Miami Dolphins Stephen Ross Faces Tough Decisions

The Miami Dolphins will need a miracle to make the playoffs after losing last weekend to the Baltimore Ravens and a loss this weekend to New England will put that slim hope to bed for good. The Dolphins will have missed the post-season for the sixth straight season and as an owner Stephen Ross has never experienced that joy. Should the Dolphins miss out on the post-season Ross will have a few decisions to make but none as important as the one regarding his head coach.

Continuity is key to building successful franchises but when continuity and consistency blend together and that consistency is bad, then there is no real reason to continue it. In the case of the Dolphins the team has a whole has gotten better over the last three seasons but the jump the team made this year was huge. Especially on offense where Bill Lazor has turned Ryan Tannehill into an NFL quarterback. Tannehill is not yet the kind of QB who can lead a game on his own and likely  he never will be so coaching is a huge part of the Dolphins game.

Stephen Ross has seen everything there is to see from Joe Philbin. The question now is whether what he sees is enough to warrant a change or one more season. The Dolphins will not likely finish the season with 10 wins this year coming up one game short at 9-7 but that would mean this team would win two our of three. In Joe Philbin’s three seasons as HC the Dolphins have gone from 7-9 to 8-8 to possibly 9-7. Is that growth? Is that a sign that the team will be 10-6 next year or 11-5 the year after? Not if you look at how the team has lost.

What are Stephen Ross’ options? For starters the season has to finish out before he will or should make a decision. In the case of Joe Philbin it will be interesting to see how the team responds this week in Foxboro with their backs squarely against the proverbial wall. A win could give Ross comfort in the decision to keep Philbin for another season. The fact is there is probably no other NFL head coach as nice of a person as Joe Philbin is but does that translate to success on the field?

If Ross decides to go in a different direction a lot of fans are worried about a rebuild or starting over and that is not the case here. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. There are a couple of options that would allow things to continue with the same personnel and systems but change the teams approach to game day.

Jim Harbaugh is the name this off-seaosn and it will take the Dolphins trading money and/or draft picks to get him from San Francisco. Ross loves Jim Harbaugh and this will be his second attempt to lure him to Miami if indeed he opts to go in that direction. Let’s just hope he fires Philbin before he flirts. Harbaugh would bring the biggest change to the team in terms of system but Harbaugh also knows how to get the best out of the players he has so while there would be changes made in some areas more than likely most of the team should stay the same and Harbaugh is very good with quarterbacks.

Harbaugh however is a long shot at this point as other teams will be looking for his services as well. If Philbin is out of the picture where do you go? For starters, I look within.

My first choice would be to hire Bill Lazor as the head coach and let him continue to call the plays on offense. Promote an offensive coach to coordinator but don’t allow him to call plays. This is the way it’s done in Green Bay. Lazor is a young up and coming coach and the Dolphins would do themselves well to retain him and as an HC may be their best chances. If Lazor does indeed move up, another long shot honestly, it would give the team one year with Lazor and a 2nd year to decide on how good Dennis Hickey is. With Jim Harbaugh Ross may need to make a decision on his GM who has done well this year.

If Lazor became the OC his best option would be to fire Kevin Coyle and promote Kacy Rodgers the teams defensive line coach. Rodgers is not going to stay a Dline coach forever and is highly thought of in the NFL. Another option would be to hire Rex Ryan to coach the defense. Don’t think for a moment that Ryan wouldn’t love to stick it to New York twice a year. With Lazor calling the offense and the game as HC and Ryan or Rodgers running the defense the Dolphins should make real strides next season.

Rex Ryan is another option at head coach. His flamboyant nature is an attitude this team lacks. Ryan brings a passion very few other coaches do and there are not many in the NFL that believe Ryan is a bad coach but a coach in a bad position. Ryan would work well with Dennis Hickey and while things might change defensively they would remain the same on offense with a little more drive and attitude to not play it safe. With Ryan at HC the door opens for Rodgers to replace Coyle as well.

Both options are smart for Ross. With Lazor he gets a guy that he can use for a minimum of one year with little or no real fallout if things don’t work. This option allows him to change GM’s as well if needed after 2015 or 2016. With Rex Ryan Ross gets a far more hardened coach who players love playing for. Then there is Harbaugh who spurned Ross’ overtures four years ago. Landing Harbaugh would be a personal victory for Ross after being rejected by Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Jeff Fisher, and five top GM candidates last season. Ross need to win one so whatever decision he makes at the end of the season will need to be decisive and with a reason. He can’t simply make a change for change but he can’t very well allow mediocrity to continue either. With the money Joe Philbin is investing in the teams stadium, it’s a priority to get fans to sit in it.

What do you think Ross should do this off-season if Joe Philbin loses his job?